New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult comes to Victoria to talk about her latest novel on Oct. 18. She’ll be appearing at the Alix Goolden Hall as part of the Bolen Books author series. Images courtesy jodipicoult.com
Local author Pirjo Raits shows off a work by Phoebe Dunbar, one of the artists featured in her new book Out of the Woods. Raits will talk about her writing and research during an author’s event at Bolen Books on Nov. 5. Tim Collins/Black Press

Bestseller Jodi Picoult leads fall author’s talk list in Victoria

Reading is a mostly solitary hobby, typically best enjoyed in a quiet room or a tranquil park, but that doesn’t mean readers aren’t keen to connect.

Proof of this lies in the popularity of Bolen Books’ author events, which consistently draw large crowds of bookworms excited to see their favourite writers in person and spend time with other lovers of the written word.

“People really get a sense of closeness with the authors that they read, they get a sense of connection,” said Vaughn Naylor, promotions co-ordinator at Bolen’s. And just as they find in the pages of their favourite books, audiences are looking for a little intellectual stimulation, he added.

“We really want to bring in events that people want to talk about, to talk about issues and ideas that will challenge them; open their minds.”

Typically, the store hosts author events in the fall and spring, and a new season is kicking off this October.

Top of the list in terms of excitement level is an appearance by Jodi Picoult at Alix Goolden Hall on Oct. 18. Picoult has had multiple novels reach No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list, including Nineteen Minutes, Handle with Care and House Rules. Picoult will present her new novel A Spark of Light, which Naylor describes as a “really amazing book, [that’s] very topical in today’s social climate.”

Only recently announced is a reading with Australia’s Liane Moriarty, another hugely popular author perhaps best known for her 2014 novel Big Little Lies, which was adapted into an HBO series. Moriarty unveils a new novel, Nine Perfect Strangers, about a group of people at a health resort who may be in for more than they bargained for. She will be appearing in-store for a ticketed event Nov. 17.

Sports fans can look forward to an appearance by Curtis “Cujo” Joseph, the former NHL goaltender who minded the net for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and others in the ’90s and 2000s. He’s written a memoir, appropriately titled Cujo, and stops by on Nov. 6.

“We’re expecting a really big turnout for that one,” said Naylor.

Other author events feature Sarah Winman (When God Was a Rabbit) with her new novel on Oct. 17, Barbara Smith, presenting Great Canadian Ghost Stories on Oct. 23; longtime Sooke News Mirror editor Pirjo Raits (Out of the Woods, Woodworkers along the Salish Sea) on Nov. 5 and local author May Q. Wong on Nov. 7 with City in Colour, a collection of stories focused on Victoria.